By Trent Faris
Jan 05, 2010
YORK COUNTY, SC (WBTV) - A dog in Fort Mill who was rescued from an icy creek earlier this week has been reunited with its owner.
A 13-year-old female chow named Polly was trapped in the frigid water in Sugar Creek for 24 hours. The conditions were so bad, most humans would have barely survived.
"I started walking up the cliff, I looked over and saw the dog buried in the mud," said Bennett. He got into the water and attempted to remove Polly from the water.
"It was absolutely like liquid ice," said Bennett. While trying to lift her out, Bennett almost got stuck in the mud himself. So, he ran back to his house and dialed 911.
For more than two hours, crews with Fort Mill Rescue pried Polly from the creek.
Animal control officers said Polly ran away from her home in Lancaster County because she was frightened by fireworks on New Year's Eve.
Neighbor David Yarns caught the rescue on video. The dog's hair was so badly matted, it was waterlogged and frozen.
Since Polly did not have an identification tag or microchip, the staff at Palmetto Veterinary Medicine in McConnell's temporarily named her "Jane Dog."
"I don't think in my 21 years of practice I've seen one this badly matted," said Dr. Karen Stallings.
It took veterinarian technician Kristi Sutton two and a half hours to shave Polly down. Without the extra hair, the dog weighed 73 pounds and the pile of shaved hair weighed 36 pounds. Altogether, Jane Dog weighed close to 110 pounds.
Dr. Stallings said Polly weighed 150 pounds soaking wet. Stallings says it's hard to classify Polly as abused due to the matted hair because she was well fed.
"It should never get to this extreme," said Dr. Stallings.
The hair could have been a blessing because it probably kept Polly warm enough until she was rescued.
According to York County Animal Shelter Director Chris Peninger, Polly belongs to a senior citizen in Lancaster County. Peninger said the woman loves the dog, but she was unable to lift Polly to take her to the vet or groomer.
The woman was reportedly beside herself when a family member said they heard on the news the dog was found.
The woman was brought to the shelter Tuesday morning and paid to have Polly microchipped, her shots updated, and groomed. She even made arrangements to have Polly taken to a vet in Lancaster County for further observation.
"When you have an animal that old who has been with someone that long, it's always a great feeling so they can go home," said Peninger.
The animal control says pet owners should check to make sure their pets have a collar or microchip. They say its very important to have both to ensure an owner is reunited with their lost pet quickly.
Source: http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11767402
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Another version of the story:
Rescued Dog Reunited With Owner
A dog that nearly froze to death in an icy creek over the weekend is back in a warm house with a very happy owner.
Lavinia Harper, 75, of Lancaster County came to York County animal control Tuesday morning, and picked up her lost and very lucky chow, "Polly."
Through tears she told Eyewitness News how grateful she is.
"We’ve been together for a long time, and I thought she was gone forever," Harper said.
Eyewitness News learned Tuesday that "Polly" is 13 years old, blind and deaf. Harper last saw her Friday, before she wandered away from home, and ended up nearly submerged in Sugar Creek in Fort Mill, three miles away.
The dog's old age and lack of hearing and sight led rescuers to believe that she fell down an embankment, and couldn't get out of the frigid water.
She became stuck in thick mud. Volunteers from the Fort Mill rescue squad worked for an hour to free her, after a neighbor heard a yelping sound from his backyard and called 911.
The dog's fur was so heavily matted with mud and weighed down with water, she couldn't get out of the creek.
"That is one lucky dog," animal control director Chris Penninger said. After being taken to a local vet, "Polly" was found in good health.
"There was no frost bite, no hypothermia, no injuries. She's doing great," she said.
Harper heard the story on local newscasts and came to animal control Tuesday morning. She has had "Polly" since the dog was a puppy.
Penninger said it was clear the lost dog had found its true owner.
"She described her dog to a 't' right down to the sty in her eye, right down to a small clip in one ear, so there's no doubt in my mind that this is her dog," she said.
Harper is legally blind herself, and her granddaughter drove her to York to pick "Polly" up. She jokes that she and her dog share some of the same infirmities.
"She’s just like me," Harper laughed. “She’s gonna stay home in the house now."
Harper is grateful to the alert neighbors who helped, and the volunteer rescue teams that braved terrible weather and icy water to save her dog's life.
"I’m thankful for every single one of them. May God bless them," she said.
Source: http://www.wsoctv.com/news/22142821/detail.html
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